Just another WordPress.com site

Archive for May, 2012

During World War I, the poster became an art form that could influence history. Prior to film and television, it was politically the most important of all visual media. The printing method, stone lithography produced lush colors and vibrant images. The art itself hung on the side public buildings and had to be visually arresting in order to capture the attention of passersby. Imagine walking through the streets of Paris and seeing these wonderful images adorn the streets.

Consequently, with that kind of exposure, artists such as Leonetto Cappiello, often referred to as “the father of modern advertising,” became very famous. Soon many fine artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, Theophile Alexandre Steinlen, Alphonse Mucha and others were eager to provide artwork for advertisers in order to get noticed.

The collecting of these posters began with their first distribution. They were sought out by art dealers who believed they could be sold to their customers. Few survived in their original state having been ripped off of the walls and often discarded. Those that survived are now prized by collectors all over the globe.

Vintage poster art is a wonderful and still quite reasonable way to collect beautiful, original art. The popularity of the antique images has grown enormously in the past 25 years and they are becoming increasingly rare. We specialize in this exciting art form and invite you to view our exciting and extensive collection of original advertising art from the 1890′ through 1990’s at Lido Gallery.